approaches Flashcards
what are the basic assumptions for the psychodynamic assumptions?
mind consists of multiple parts - conscious mind, pre-conscious mind, and the unconscious mind
behaviour explained as a result of conflicts between different aspects of the mind
early childhood experiences shapes us as adults
5 psychosexual stages
what does Freud emphasis?
emphasises the role of the unconscious mind in determining behaviour
what is the role of the unconscious mind?
iceberg
conscious - what we are directly aware of
pre-conscious - memories, thoughts and beliefs we are not directly aware of but that can be accessed by making an effort to do so
unconscious - everything else, biological drives, instincts, desires, repressed memories and fears, cannot be easily accessed
what is the tripartite structure of personality?
freud proposed it:
Id - primitive, biological part of personality, present from birth, pleasure principle demanding gratification
Ego - mediates between the id and the superego, reality principle
superego - the moral higher values, morality principle, punishing the ego through guilt
according to Freud how is our behaviour determined?
determined by the interactions of the id, ego and superego. ego sits in the middle and tries to balance the competing demands of the id (biological drives) and superego (moral beliefs, right and wrong). improper balance creates anxiety and is the cause of mental disorders. the mind resolves these conflicts by defence mechanisms.
what are defence mechanisms?
ways in which the ego manages the conflicts between the id and superego:
repression, denial and displacement
what is repression?
hiding an unpleasant or undesirable thought (sexual or aggressive urges) or memory from the conscious mind
what is denial?
rejecting and refusing to accept reality
what is displacement?
redirecting emotions from the actual target to a substitute
names the psychosexual stages
oral 0-1 pleasure focus - mouth, feeding
anal 1-3 pleasure focus - anus, expelling faeces
phallic 3-5 pleasure focus - genitals, masturbation, desire focuses on penis or clitoris
latency 5-puberty pleasure focus - repressed, sexual desires are repressed
genital puberty pleasure focus - genitals, sexual desires are conscious directed towards having sex
what is the oedipus and electra complex?
occurs at the phallic stage, boys develop a sexual attraction towards their mother and a hatred of their father, the fear of castration develops. but this complex is resolved when the boy identifies with his father.
girls go through the same thing but with their mother
what are the strengths of the psychodynamic approach?
explanatory powers - theory used to explain how experiences in early childhood influence adult personality. common in Bowlby’s continuity hypothesis and double bind explanation in sz
RWA - treatment, psychoanalysis
what are the weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach?
unscientific/pseudoscientific - not falsifiable, unconscious concepts are not observable by the individual themself let alone measurable in a lab.
small number of case studies that are idiographic - Hans and the phobia of horses
ignores other factors - explains mental disorders as a result of conflicts, ignores biological explanations.
what are the basic assumptions for the cognitive approach?
inner mental processes studied scientific, can be inferred by their external behaviours
mental processes can be modelled, computer model inputs and outputs
theories
what is a schema?
cognitive framework of organising information and understanding of the world
formed from experiences, use to interpret the past form expectations and predication for the future
what are computer model in relation to the cognitive approach?
information input into the brain, processed then output
they say that the mind works similar to a computer
what are theoretical models?
to explain cognitions behind behaviour, MSM
explains how information flows through various components for processing
describe the emergence of cognitive neuroscience.
relationship between brain activity and mental processes. looks at the biological workings underlying cognition
technology has advanced, fMRI and PET scans
Braver et al - observed greater working memory load is correlated with greater prefrontal cortex activity
suggests the underlying biological basis for working memory is situated in the area of the brain
what are the strengths of the cognitive approach?
acknowledges mental processes, they are important in determining behaviour.
scientific - mental processes cannot directly be observed, rigorous experimental methods based on observed data to infer details
RWA - therapies CBT, shown to improve symptoms of depression
what are the weaknesses of the cognitive approach?
machine reductionist - simplifies the mind to a computer, similarities between two types of processing. however doesn’t take into account emotions and motivation that humans have
humans also make mistakes EWT whereas as computer take in every information no matter if it has little use
ecological validity - based on lab studies, Baddeley test of the CE is an unusual task that one wouldn’t normally perform in real-life
who is Wundt?
he is the father of experimental psychology
founded the first psychology lab in 1879
pioneered the technique of introspection
what is introspection?
looking and examining one’s thoughts, emotions and sensations and the participants would recall back what their inner experiences when they saw images or heard sounds